Ben 10 I Want my Mummy
by crystalquirt
Summary: Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max visit a farm where Grandpa Max’s old friend has been having trouble with missing livestock. Grandpa Max is accused of child abuse. Very Loosely based on Under Wraps. A little violence, injury and angst.


Ben 10 - I want my mummy

~oh that was bad. . .

By CrystalQuirt

Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max visit a farm where Grandpa Max's old friend has been having trouble with missing livestock. Grandpa Max is accused of child abuse. Very loosely based on Under Wraps. A little violence, injury and angst.

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While Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max were sleeping in the chicken coop turned bedroom, Ben and Gwen heard noises outside and Ben ran out to investigate. Gwen reluctantly followed him out into the dark. It was almost dawn and Ben would have rather been anywhere but milking the cows.

"Ben, why are we doing this?"

"There's something going on out there, you heard it too – that kid said there were strange things happening around here."

"But we shouldn't go alone – we should have waited for Grandpa." Ben wasn't listening. He kept going with Gwen right behind him.

Soon after they left, Aunt Flo came in to wake them up to start chores but only found Max.

"Where are them youngin's of yours, Max? Them cows won't milk themselves!" Grandpa Max rubbed his eyes and looked at her.

"I'm not sure. Maybe they went to get an early start on their own?" even as he said it, he heard how silly it sounded. Especially Ben would not be getting an early start at anything that even sounded like work.

"I will go find them." he volunteered and pulled his pants on over his pajama bottoms.

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Ben and Gwen followed the sounds. They were coming from in the direction of the cow pasture. It was just on the other side of a small cornfield. Gwen hesitated to go in the cornfield in the dark.

"Ben lets go back and get Grandpa." She tried to convince him one more time. Just as she said it, a cow bellered and what sounded like breaking boards came from the other side of the corn.

"No time!" Ben slapped the watch and XLR8 took off through the corn. Gwen tried to tell him to not to go alone, or leave her alone but he ran off too fast. Knowing she couldn't keep up with XLR8 and really afraid to go through the cornfield alone, she ran back to get Grandpa. He wasn't still in his bed, so she ran for the barn and found him there.

"Grandpa! Ben's in trouble!"

"What's going on Gwen?"

"Hurry, there is something going on out there with the cows. Ben went XLR8 and went off alone." Grandpa stopped at the Rust Bucket and got a couple of tech items that Gwen hadn't seen before. One looked kind like a gun. She led the way as she and Grandpa Max ran through the corn to find Ben.

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XLR8 was a blur as he followed the sounds of some very upset cows. He came out of the corn and found the mummy chewing on a freshly dead cow. "Ew, I'll never eat meat again and that looks like a mummy?"

Ben ran closer and slammed on his brakes. He really didn't want to get any closer to the dead cow than he had too. "And why would a Mummy be eating - and eating a cow?

"Hey! Stop that so I can send you back in the ground for ruining the joy of eating cheeseburgers for me forever!"

XLR8 ran in circles around the mummy and got him to get up and leave his meal. XLR8 danced and ran backwards taunting the mummy to make him follow. Cows scattered and ran out from under the water tower as the mummy chased XLR8 around them. Ben was planning to get the mummy under the water tank and drop it on him.

XLR8 chopped at the speed of light at one of the heavy wooden poles holding up the tank. Enraged, the mummy sent strips of rags like tentacles made of cloth after him. XLR8 avoided them and ran in to deliver a series of quick kicks to the mummy's head before circling again and going back to chopping. The mummy sent twice as many strips of cloth at him and trapped him between them.

This time the cloth wrapped around XLR8's legs and hung him upside down. The dreaded beep sounded and Ben appeared hanging in XLR8's place. "NO! Not yet!"

The cloth tightened on Ben's legs to make up for his smaller size. He put his arms out towards the mummy to try and fend off whatever attack was in store for him. Another living strip of cloth snapped at him like a whip and left a red mark on his arm.

"Ow! Let me go you laundry basket reject!" AAAaaaah" The cloth spun Ben around once in a wide circle before letting him go.

The mummy stayed under the water tank. Ben flew into the old wooden fence down about forty feet away from where he started. The boards cracked and fell on top of him along with the hotwire that had been installed to keep the cows away from the fence.

When the hot-wire broke, it fell into the dead weeds and hay under the fence and across Ben's back. It started the weeds next to him on fire and Ben screamed as it gave him a strong shock.

"AhhnnAA!" and his whole body convulsed under the electric wire for a moment. It left a tear with burnt edges in the white material his shirt was made from before it shorted out.

"Help Gwen! Grandpa!" the fire grew very fast fueled by all the old dry cow hay caught in the weeds and was uncomfortably close to him. He could feel the heat from it on his leg as he tried to pull himself out from under the broken boards. He rolled over as far as he could to reach back and try to push the boards off but couldn't move them. Smoke started drifting over him and made him cough.

Ben desperately tried to activate the Omnitrix again, but it was still red.

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Grandpa and Gwen came out of the corn to find a mummy-like creature calmly chewing on its meal of raw cow near a small brush fire. They stopped and got low to avoid being seen right away. It sat only a few feet away from the burning fence and brush, but didn't seem to care.

A nearby tree had become involved and crackled loudly as the leaves went up in flames. Ben was completely hidden from their view by the smoke.

"Oh no! A Fire! Where's Ben?" Gwen whispered to Grandpa. "We gotta get that creature away from the fire so we can put it out before it burns the whole farm."

"We could really use Ben's help about now – are you sure he came this way?"

Gwen held her hand toward the mummy and started to chant, "Saphirius Expectorium Per. . ."

"Gwen no – don't add wind to the fire!" Grandpa cautioned and touched her shoulder.

She stopped her incantation and lowered her hand. Her spell had already changed the direction of the wind just enough to blow the smoke in a different direction. They both yelled "Ben!" at the same time when they saw his small body lying under the boards and dangerously close to the fire. They could see him moving and coughing weakly.

"Senyu Invisiliss!" Gwen chanted and the mummy lifted off the ground over his meal. The creature turned in mid-air and glared at her angrily. She waved her hands away, and the creature was thrown in the same direction. Gwen sent him as far into the cornfield as she could and they ran to Ben. "Gwen, see if you can do something about the fire, I will get Ben."

"Aquata Risa Spackwa!" Gwen called and a spout of water came up and out of the water tower. She frowned as she concentrated to turn it and begin dousing the flames.

Some of the water ran under Ben so Grandpa picked Ben's head up out of the mud puddle as he used his other hand to push the last of the broken wooden fencing off of his grandson.

Grandpa picked Ben's limp body up in his arms and carried him away from the fire before he put him down on his back. Gwen almost had the fire out.

"Grandpa! Well? How is he?" she called back to him.

"I don't know, yet Gwen." Grandpa frowned as his fingers traced a line of blood from Ben's little cheek up to his hairline near his eye. He felt a bump and a deep cut.

"Ben? Can you hear me?" he said as he bent over to check him. He felt a strong pulse and watched Ben's chest rise and fall with each breath. He patted his cheek and said his name again. Ben started coughing and rolled to his side.

"Ow-my head!" Ben moaned and put his hand up to the cut.

"Ben, lie still - do you hurt anywhere else beside's your head?"

"I hurt all over, but worst is my leg and back." Max felt down his leg and found the back of his pantsleg had been burned away over his calf and his skin was blistered and red. His shirt had been torn by the electric wire, and his skin under it had a long red mark running across his back.

"Do you think you can sit up?"

"Ya." Ben tried to sit up, Grandpa helped him. "What happened to the Mummy?"

Just then Gwen screamed. "Help! He's back!" they looked and the mummy had Gwen in his cloth tentacles. The fire was out except for a small pile of hay still smoking near the tree. Grandpa pressed on Ben's shoulder gently to hold him down and told him, "Stay put, I will handle this."

How? Ben thought. He watched his Grandpa pull out a knife and something that looked like a space-gun before running to Gwen and the mummy-like creature. Grandpa rolled in under where Gwen was suspended in the air and cut her down before firing three quick laser burst at the mummy.

It roared and swiped at him with his fist. Grandpa grabbed Gwen and ran back toward Ben, but the cloth tentacles followed them and grabbed them again. It lifted Grandpa and Gwen up and tossed them back out away from the tower.

Ben watched in horror as they landed, and didn't move right away. He saw the mummy's dinner glowed and the dead cow came back to life. It turned black and had red glowing eyes. It stood, pawed and charged at Grandpa and Gwen!

Ben got up holding his head and slapped the Omnitrix. Fourarms appeared and charged after the mutated cow first. He hit it broadside and picked it up. He threw it over the fence and into the field beyond. The reanimated animal snorted and ran through the fence to charge him again. The mummy was moving up behind him.

Fourarms waited until the last second and jumped straight up in the air. The cow ran into the mummy and fell limp to the ground again.

Fourarms went after the mummy. The cloth tentacles tried to wrap around him and pin his arms but he had no trouble breaking them each time as he ran in to deliver a punch to the creature's face. Grandpa Max and Gwen sat up and watched Ben.

"Be careful!" Grandpa Max was worried about Ben fighting again with a possible head injury. He and Gwen got up and ran back toward the fight.

Just as they got there, Fourarms had the mummy held tightly in his arms and was trying to squish him into bone meal. The mummy's oversized hands hit both sides of Fourarm's neck at the same time and Fourarms dropped him.

He went to his knees but blocked the mummy's next hit with two of his arms, and knocked him back with his other arms. Grandpa shot the mummy again with several short laser bursts, but they looked like they went right through the creature. "Gwen! Can you bring that water tower down on the mummy?"

"Sure." Gwen readied herself. She held her arms out first to the Mummy and chanted "Apendaja Ragoria" the mummy stopped in his tracks like he was frozen.

"Ben! Get away from it, run over here!" Grandpa called. Fourarms rolled to his feet and staggered toward them holding his head.

Gwen aimed at the heavy wooden supports that held up the water tower and yelled, "Emocha Objectia" twice, one spell for each of the closest two supports. The wood blew up splintering the supports into tiny pieces. The water tower fell right on target. She stated "Mashed Mummy" and smiled.

Ben was almost to Grandpa when the Omnitrix beeped and Ben turned back into Ben. He immediately gritted his teeth in pain, held his head in his hands and fell limp to the ground.

"Ben!" Grandpa picked him up and they went as quickly as they could to the Rust Bucket. While Grandpa Max drove, Gwen took a warm damp cloth and started to clean the blood, mud and soot off of Ben's face and arms. He moaned and looked at her. "Grandpa! Ben's awake."

"What happened to the mummy?" Ben asked.

"He was very flat when we left. We're taking you to the hospital."

"I don't wanna go to the hospital! I am fine." Ben tried to sit up but Gwen pushed him back down.

"We just want to make sure none of the few brain cells you have left can leak out."

Ben glared at her but relaxed.

"No really, we wanna make sure you are ok. So lay still and let us take care of you." She gently wiped his face and down each of his arms. They soon got to the hospital emergency entrance and Grandpa carried him in.

After they waited a while, they were shown into a treatment area and the curtain closed. Ben closed his eyes while he waited on the gurney and it made Gwen nervous. "Ben are you ok?"

"Sleepy."

"Tell us what happened when you found the mummy."

Ben sounded sleepy as he spoke to her, but was always happy to share an account of a battle. He exaggerated a little and left out the part where he let the mummy grab XLR8. The Doctor and two nurses finally came in and started looking Ben over.

Grandpa told them when they got there that Ben was trapped in a burning chicken coop and the roof fell on him. It was all he could think of that might explain the burns and head injury. One of the nurses had heard part of Ben's account of what happened and had some questions for him since his story seemed to differ from what his grandpa had told them.

"So this didn't happen when you were thrown into a fence and an electric wire started a fire? Who hit you so hard you were thrown into a fence?"

"Nobody – it is like grandpa said. Burning chicken coop."

"I heard you talking just a minute ago.

"He has a vivid imagination"

I have already called the police to report a possible case of child abuse. When they get here, they will want to interview each of you alone.

Gwen panicked, "No! Grandpa would never hurt either of us. Look me over I have no injuries."

"Well aren't you lucky? Abusive are often rougher on little boys than girls. We will protect this child but I am sure you both will not be allowed to be with him anymore." The ill-tempered looking nurse smiled wickedly.

"Where did you get those statistics?"

"Ya it sounds like you already have our Grandpa convicted – it happened just like he said it did and he would never hurt either one of us!"

"Calm down kids, they will find out the truth." Grandpa wasn't worried.

They sat quietly while the technician took x-rays of Ben's head and then followed him back to the exam area. One of the nurses came in and shaved a little of Ben's hair away from the wound and cleaned it.

The nurse who accused their grandpa of abuse cleaned Ben's burned leg. She was so rough he cried out and tried to get away. Grandpa had to restrain Gwen when she threatened to use magic to get her away from Ben. Another male nurse came over and held Ben down while she finished. Ben screamed "You're the one who's hurting me! Not Grandpa!"

Before they bandaged his wounds they took pictures, including where the hotwire fell across his back and the red marks caused by the mummy's cloth wraps. Ben turned his face away trying to hide from the camera each time and one of the nurses had to hold him still to get a good one of his head.

When officer's showed up they gave the pictures to them and took grandpa away. Ben begged them to at least let Gwen stay with him, but they wouldn't do it. A kind officer promised they would be right back.

They asked all three of them a bunch of questions and wrote everything down. Finally Grandpa and Gwen were allowed to come back and Gwen gave Ben a hug.

"There is no evidence that these two have had any major injuries before, at least none that could be questioned." He looked at Ben. "We know boys will be boys and they crash a lot." The nurse who caused all the trouble started to object but the officer interrupted her again. "We will check in on them from time to time, and call their parents to see if they want Ben to come home."

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"Ben has a mild concussion and will need plenty of rest." was the doctor's report. Ben was feeling very angry and very sleepy. He put his head back and held his fists pressed to his eyes trying to hide the tears that had welled up from Gwen. This day had not turned out at all like he thought it would.

Gwen stepped up to the exam table again and fixed his hair where it was stuck in the bandage. "It'll be ok Ben."

Grandpa Max still smiled and was so pleasant to everyone, even the ill-tempered busy body nurse that started all this. The older officer, the nicest one instructed Grandpa to come with him so he could give him the contact information and they could contact Ben and Gwen's parents.

"No there is no need to call them! Please don't." Ben sat up to beg them not to.

"It will be ok Ben." Grandpa smiled and gave his hand a squeeze as he got up and followed the officer.

"Gwen! What do you think they will do? I mean, I know our parents will never believe that Grandpa would hurt me, but they might get upset that I got hurt. I hope we don't have to go back."

"It sounds like that nurse is gonna try to make us go no matter what our parents say."

Ben fell back on the pillow with a huff. Gwen stared at the floor while a nurse made Ben roll over to clean and bandage the burn on his back.

"Hey! That hurts!" Ben cried. Gwen stood up next to the gurney. "It's ok Ben, it will be over soon – I am sure you've felt worse."

"I guess, but this whole thing stinks – why won't they believe us? There is no way they could have proof – because there is no way Grandpa would do anything like they say."

The nurse bandaging his back whispered, "Don't worry kids, that crabby nurse accuses the parents of half the kids that come through here of something sinister. I don't think the cops take her very seriously anymore, but they do have to check every report out just in case."

Grandpa Max soon came back still all smiles and they hoped it was good news. The nurse finished with Ben's back and excused herself. Grandpa spoke to them softly, "They are releasing you from the hospital Ben. We just have to be sure to have your head re-checked again in two days where ever we wind up.

"But what about . . ."

"Don't worry guys; we will talk more when we get out of here."

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Back in the Rust Bucket, Grandpa Max drove to the farm. "We still have a mystery to solve out there."

Ben couldn't stay in his bunk and wandered up in his pajamas. "Grandpa what happened? Aren't they gonna make us go home? Aren't you in trouble?"

"No Ben, the policeman that I spoke to is an old friend, and the woman that reported us is very close to getting charged with filing false reports. When there really is evidence, kids need protection, but things aren't always easy to understand, and are more complicated than they used to be.

"Anyway, we are fine and it is over. Go on back and get some rest Ben. You will have two days off from farm chores!"

"Aw- unfair!" Gwen stated.

Ben grinned, and went back to his bunk. He was actually looking forward to go back now and he was sure they could figure out what was going on with that mummy.

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[The End.]


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